Dual Sport Maps Android App Review

Hey all,

I put together a review about a year ago of the Android Apps that were out there for moto-GPS use.

At that time Trimble Outdoors was the clear choice, but where it fell down (and still does) is the in the offline maps. They are available from Trimble's website, but it is a pain to download them. Also Trimble is not a moto-specific app which makes a difference when you look at some of the super-cool features available with an app like Dual Sport Maps that was designed specifically for our purpose.



Dual Sport Maps was written by our very own CraftyCoder who stills offers personal support via this thread. The app is paired with the dualsportmaps.com website which allows you to upload, create and share routes with other riders and then have all those routes available through the app.

There are so many features available in the app that I'll just try to hit the high points here. First and foremost is the offline maps. Here is where crafty's app sets itself apart from all other apps out there. Downloading maps for offline use is easy and quick via the app itself. After install it took me about 5 minutes (connected to wifi) to download full maps of three different states along with the POI's.



Crafty has packed so many features into this app that the best way to describe it is you get all the features you would expect from any good GPS unit and an app. Set rotation, lots of different maps to choose from, night/day mode, turn by turn voice and routing (even offline routing), background service for recording tracks with the screen off, zoom out/in of the map based on speed, etc.

But what REALLY puts this app in a league of it's own is the moto-specificity of it. One neat feature that crafty added (at my prompting I might point out ) is the automatic volume adjustment based on speed. This is really cool. You set levels and it raises/lowers your volume based on the GPS speed you set.



One of the other great features is the speedo screen overlay. This combines a compass, speedometer (with a marker to show your highest and average speeds) and trip/fuel odometers which gives your motorcycle a fuel gauge (us KLR riders really appreciate that ).



And here's a shot of the map screen itself. In this view the map will zoom based on speed and even tilt the view so you can see farther out when travelling on faster roads. Hit the blue arrow and the app takes you back to your location.



Lastly, the app allows you to share your own tracks and download others. Depending on where you live it can be a bit sparse, but I have seen the site explode with tracks over the few months that it has been up. Of course, the more people use it and share then the more rides we all have.




The website is free, but the app is for sale in the Android Market.

So even though it's called "Dual Sport Maps" would it be suitable to use in the car for around town/travel routing?

For sure. It's a general GPS app with add on features for motorcycle use.

Forgot to mention too, I'm completely unaffiliated with the app, website or craftycoder.

I see that the normal OSM offline maps are there. Are there any additional maps available besides those that are included with the OSMand app?

I don't think so, but that is a question better answered by crafty.

Yes there are. There are about 60 raster overlay maps uploaded to the website and available for to the app.

Examples photos and video below:







<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mKBS2dcx_0I?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'm very uneducated concerning GPS, but I bought a droid to use on my streetbike. I'm starting to look into dualsporting (currently restoring an old bike) With all that said, can existing TAT maps be loaded into the droid?

If they are in GPX or other similar format than yes.

the paper maps could be done as well, but it would be a lot of work. the smart way to work with the paper maps would be to create a private map and use the websites excellent track drawing tools to create tracks and then transfer those to the app. that process would be very informative for you and technically simple.

But I am struggling here.... I got the app for my driod, have private tracks in dualsportmaps.com I want to load to my driod and ride it before I make public... So my question just might be too simple but can not figure it ou,,t watch all the videos ect... I am sure its me and its there some where...

How do I get my private tracks from Dualsportmaps to my driodx?

then...

how to i start to navigate or use the tracks on the driodx?

A BIG thanks to craftycoder......thanks its been fun learning all of this...

cpeebs38

You need to enter your website credentials in the settings area under dualsportmaps.com

Then you use the normal search function to find and view them.

Thank you one step closer... I had it in there but must have had a space for something... Your the man

Will it allow aerial photograph overlays? I am using Trimble because it does. I want to use my Galaxy Tab 2 while laying out trail, and having the aerial view with the live track I am making is helpful. But I am a little perplexed at using Trimble, seems like instructions are hard to come by.

Having owned a dumb phone for years I just upgraded to a new Motorola and just bought the Dual Sport Maps app, all I can say so far is wow! More tutorial video's please!

Check out the app thread in my signature. Lots of information in there. That is where I post all the news as well.

Now I'm going to have to buy a droid....great. lol
This app looks amazing, and I've been needing a new phone so this might be the time for me to do it. :)

Check this guy out. Waterproof!
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Advance-...TF8&qid=1354045451&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+st27a

Not sure what carrier your with but we are out in rural Oregon and use US Cellular. Not saying they are good but they have towers out in the middle of nowhere around here. For the most part, get to a high spot and we'll have something. So I ended up with the new Motorola Electrify M, so far so good! I will not be mounting my phone on the bars and for the most part it will live in a vest pocket or tank bag. It will be a back up to GPS units and good old paper maps! I think the one thing that really got me was the weather radar overlay on the Dual Sport Maps app. The one thing that I would love to add a app for now is a weather satellite image. I added the eWeather HD app but it also only has radar but tons of weather info!

FYI: If you click on the Radar icon that displays with the weather radar in DSM, it will show you the current weather data at the radar station.

Thanks, I'll check it out. And by the way, great job on the Dual Sport Maps App!!! I'll be sure to let others play with this one on my phone...